Giving You The Skinny On South African Design

Tag: Chest of Drawers

Why spend a fortune on custom made furniture when it’s so easy to personalise what you already have? In this clever DIY video, Tara from Better Homes and Gardens, illustrates how easy it can be to transform a tired old chest of drawers into a mirrored Shabby Chic statement piece that will add that touch of glam to you space. Later on in the clip she also shows how, with just a lick of paint and some chevron patterns, you can contemporise a cheap pine dresser into something super trendy.

Bombé: is a French term for any furniture piece with a rounded or convex shape – fronts and sides. The word bombé literally means bomb-shaped, cambered, or bulging. Popular during the French Regency period of Louis XV, the bowed shapes where often found on bureaus, chests of drawers and commodes. Because of its French pronunciation, the term is occasionally incorrectly spelled as “Bombay”.

LEFT: A handsome fruitwood and walnut veneer French semainier with holly inlay and marble top, circa 1880. RIGHT: A super cool contemporary semainier by Rougier in teal high gloss lacquer.

What is the definition of Semainier?

Have you ever heard someone mention the term Semainier and wondered what on earth it meant? Well, now you have to wonder no longer – we will define Semainier for you! Here is the latest addition to our Decorating Dictionary…

Semainier: is a tall, narrow chest with seven drawers – one drawer for each day of the week. Popularised in 18th-century, the name derives from the French term, “semaine”, meaning “week” and was designed for storing lingerie, personal linen and other unmentionables.